Gov. Mikie Sherrill and lawmakers set aside billions of dollars to cover the latest round of state-funded property tax relief rebates, and New Jersey residents now have only a few days left to secure their share.
This year, the application deadline for state government’s three major rebate programs — ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ — is this coming Monday on Nov. 2.
The Stay NJ program, which is reserved for senior homeowners, now incorporates some noteworthy changes enacted by Sherrill and the Legislature under a compromise worked out in their first state budget together. At the governor’s insistence, some of the eligibility rules were tightened to limit the costs on the nearly $61 billion overall state budget.
In recent days, administration officials have sought to raise awareness about the upcoming application deadline for the rebate programs, including by issuing news releases and posts on social media.
“We want to ensure that all eligible residents take advantage of these programs designed to make New Jersey a more affordable place to live,” state treasurer Aaron Binder said in a news release.
State officials are also hosting a series of events throughout the state in the final days leading up to the Nov. 2 deadline to help residents fill out and submit applications. Residents can check the latest calendar of events here (opens in new tab). The last-minute blitz is especially urgent for seniors because they must submit a new application to the state each year to verify eligibility to receive benefits through the state-funded programs.
How to get up to $6,500
At stake for senior homeowners is up to $6,500 in annual benefits, according tao the latest allocations for direct property tax relief approved earlier this year by Sherrill and lawmakers.
The first step for seniors is filling out and submitting an application called PAS-1 before the Nov. 2 deadline, officials said. The PAS-1 application checks eligibility for all three programs.
For other residents, they can fill out a form called ANC-1 to apply for non-senior rebates. Those rebates can total as much as $1,500 per household.
The PAS-1 and ANC-1 forms are available online here (opens in new tab).
In all, more than $4 billion in funding has been earmarked in the state budget to cover housing affordability benefits distributed to millions of residents annually. This includes income tax deductions provided to many homeowners and renters, as well as direct rebates sent each year to eligible New Jersey residents, all to help offset average property tax bills that totaled a record-high $10,570 last year.
ANCHOR is the state’s most popular rebate program, and this year it is funded with more than $2 billion.
Homeowners making up to $250,000 annually and renters making up to $150,000 annually are generally eligible to receive benefits under the program’s current eligibility requirements. Benefits for homeowners total $1,000 or $1,500, depending on annual income, while the benefit for enters is $450 or $700, depending on age.
Over the summer, the Sherrill administration sent letters to 537,000 homeowners and 549,000 renters notifying them of their eligibility for automatic ANCHOR payments. Distribution of those payments began in mid-September.
But others who may be eligible to receive ANCHOR payments can still submit applications, up until the Nov. 2 deadline, officials said.
Meanwhile, seniors are not eligible to receive payments automatically and instead must fill out the PAS-1 application each year to confirm eligibility for ANCHOR payments, as well as benefits from the two other programs for which they may be eligible.
This includes Senior Freeze, which is officially called Property Tax Reimbursement in state tax law. The Senior Freeze nickname comes from state-funded checks sent annually to hundreds of thousands of income-eligible senior citizen and disabled homeowners to offset any local property tax increases, thus “freezing” those bills.
Earlier this year, Sherrill and lawmakers allocated $345 million to cover Senior Freeze benefits paid to newly eligible and repeat recipients. The Senior Freeze program’s income limit for the 2025 tax year was $172,475, and for the 2024 tax year, it was $168,268.
Seniors homeowners may also be eligible to receive additional benefits through Stay NJ, a program that debuted last year and has already been overhauled by Sherrill and lawmakers.
Political path to tax relief
The Stay NJ rebates were the source of some political jockeying earlier this year, when fine print written into the fiscal year 2027 state budget in late June restricted Stay NJ to seniors earning no more than $200,000 annually, rather than the prior ceiling of $500,000.
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and other Democratic legislative leaders accepted Stay NJ’s lowered income ceiling in last-minute negotiations with the cost-conscious Sherrill that took place in late June, just days before the start of the state’s latest July-to-June fiscal year.
“We are pleased to have worked closely together to reach an agreement on an FY 2027 budget that makes New Jersey more affordable and protects our state from the Trump Administration’s dangerous policies that harm residents,” the three said in a joint statement at the time.
Some remaining Stay NJ recipients eventually may see their quarterly benefits reduced due to other changes enacted by Sherrill and lawmakers. This includes reserving the $6,500 maximum Stay NJ benefit for senior homeowners with annual incomes of $100,000 or less, according to budget documents.
The changes authorized in the budget language reduced Stay NJ’s total allocation this year to $756 million from more than $1 billion.
Residents who have already filed applications to receive rebates from one or all of the state-funded programs can go online to check on the status of their rebates here (opens in new tab).
Additional information about the rebate programs, including full eligibility rules and FAQs, is available online here (opens in new tab).
Those seeking last-minute assistance can call the state’s Property Tax Relief Hotline at (888) 238-1233, officials said.
The state Division of Taxation also operates a series of regional information centers that can aid residents seeking assistance. Those centers are located in Cranford, Fair Lawn, Freehold, Galloway and Trenton. The addresses and office hours for each regional information center are available online here (opens in new tab).